You hear little about the role of African Americans in North Carolina during the Civil War. Did they play only a passive role as bystanders?
No. Free or enslaved, most African American adults in North Carolina played active roles in the Civil War. At least 5,000 freed males in areas of Union occupation in eastern North Carolina enlisted in Union regiments and fought to end slavery and restore the Union. Other free blacks did a variety of work for the Union army. Men labored on fortifications and served as wagon drivers, and women often worked as cooks or laundresses. Freedmen also found employment opportunities for wages as wagon drivers or cooks in the Confederate army. Confederate authorities impressed slaves to work on fortifications, and many slaves went to war as body servants for their owners. Northern observers often commented on the number of African Americans who passed through their towns with Confederate armies.
